Ken Doykos has won the 2010 Colorado State
Championship with an undefeated 5-1 score. Ken, 64, has been a USCF
member since 1975. His peak OTB rating was 2020 and though he had
played some postal chess back in the Seventies, this was his first
tournament. Ken notes he had some good fortune along the way, but in
chess fortune often comes to those who fight.

GAME
OF THE MONTHWhite dominates the first half of this game, but
then a sudden mental shift from attacker to defender and Black takes over.

CARO-KANN (B16)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3
dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6 6.c3 Bf5 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.g3 e6 9.Bg2 Nd7 10.Nh4White generally
continues with 10. 00 and after 10...000 the prospect of capturing on g6
opening up the h-file is not desirable. 10...Bg6 11.0-0 0-0-0 The strategy for both
sides is now very clear -- attack the King, but mind the center.12.b4A perfectly
straightforward commencement of the attack. An instructive miniature
was Chiburdanidze-Borner, Biel 1991: 12. Qe2 Bd6 13. Be3 f5 14. Bg5 Rde8 15. c4
c5 16. b4! cxd4 17. c5 Bf6 18. Rac1 Nb8 19. b5 Bg7 20. b6 1-012...Kb8This defensive move does
not help Black at all. The King is less safe in b8 (or a8) than on
c8. The b-file is the file most likely to open up and the King sits
at the top of it. 13. a4 e5!?White's attack is
clearly ahead of Black's kingside action so Black tries his hand in the center.14.b5White also gets good
play after 14.Qb3 exd4 15. cxd4 Bd6 16. a5 a6 17 Bb2 Rhe8 18. Nxg6
hxg6 19. Rfc1.14...c5 15.Nxg6 hxg6
16.dxe5White misses how strong
his position is after 16. d5 c4 17. a5 Nc5 18. b6 axb6 19. axb6 Qxb6 20. Be3
Bd6 21. Qe216...Nxe5 17.Qc2Black has survived the
main thrust of White's attack. While it is true that the endgame
with the two handsome White Bishops would be favorable, the endgame is a long
way away and the middle game features a handsome Black Knight and two open
files for the Black Rooks.17...Qd7 18.Bf4 g5
19.Rad1The other Rook makes
more sense. The f1 Rook hasn't much to do now.19...Bd6 20.Be3 Qe6
21.Qe4 Rd7 22.Rd5? White is dreaming of
Rfd1 followed by Rxd6 but there is a serious flaw in his reasoning. Better
was 22. a5 with the idea of a6, creating threats on the long white diagonal..22...f5!After a long and arduous
defense, Doykos comes roaring back with a series of heavy blows to the White
kingside.23.Qc2Better may be 23. Rxd6!?
Qxd6 24. Qxf5 f6 25. a5 when White still has counterchances. 23...f4 24.Bxc5 Bxc5
25.Rxc5 f3! 26.Rxe5 Qxe5 27.Bxf3 f5 28.Bg2White has sufficient
material for the exchange (two Pawns) but Black's active Rooks and kingside
pressure finally break White's spirit and he morphs into defensive
mode. 28...g4Not the most efficient
-- Black should first lure the f1 Rook away by 28...Rc7 29. Rc1 then 29...f4
30. c4 Rch7 31. c5 Rxh2 32. c6 Rxg2+! 33. Kxg2 Qd5+_ 34. f3 g4! and Black wins.29.h4?Again 29. c4 is better:
29. c4 Rdh7 30. c5 Rxh2 31. Qe4 f4 when White can still fight. [29.c4 Rdh7
30.c5 Rxh2 31.Qc4 f4]29...gxh3 30.Bf3 Rhd8!Now the power of the
d-file will manifest itself. Black is winning.31.Qc1 Rd3 0-1

RUY LOPEZ (C69)Quote: Correspondence chess is
an excellent tool, but one which is often misunderstood. When I suggest
that this form of the game is a good way to improve, they often react by saying
that everyone uses computers so what's the point ? While this is not
altogether true -- there are correspondence chess players who agree to play
without silicon assistance -- I take the view that extensive use of computers
is actually a good thing.

The point is that it
vastly enhances the quality of your opponent's play thus forcing you to raise
your own level. --10 Great Ways to Get Better at Chess by Nigel Davis

LEARN CHESS BY MAIL ! Lessons given by mail,
telephone, ICC - many different ways. I specialize in players rated
800-2100 who would like to improve their game. Contact me for
information. Alex Dunne, 324 West Lockhart St., Sayre, PA 18840 or [email protected]

Juraj was born December
2, 1975 in Slovakia, EU. He began to play CC when he was 12 years
old. He moved to Florida, graduated with a BS in Accounting from the
University of South Florida and lives in Parrish, Florida with his wife and 17
month old son.DUTCH DEFENSE (A90)

Kovats demonstrates a
positional trap in the Zukertort Variation.ZUKERTORT VARIATION
(D05)One of Kasparov's early
trainers, Aleksandr Shakarov, was well-known for his brilliant CC play. Here
is an example:NIMZO-INDIAN DEFENSE
(E59)

Pins and needles,
needles and pins -- the early part of this game is sharp!CENTER COUNTER GAME
(B01)

The Colorado
Championship was not won easily by Ken Doykos. Here he had to face a
determined Master in the decisive game. A win by Baffo would have
given him the title.